The global talent market is a constantly evolving beast. Where there is low unemployment in some countries, recessions and resignations loom in others. The trick for any company recruiting across borders is to understand both macro and micro trends in HR so they can navigate markets effectively and find the best talent possible.
This article should go a long way to achieving that goal. In it, we’ll take a deep dive into the current trends businesses can expect when hiring international employees in 2023 and beyond.
Companies and employees are bullish on AI
Research by the World Economic Forum finds that AI will play a big role in the jobs of the future, with more than three-quarters of companies looking to adopt big data, cloud computing and AI technology in the next five years.
The U.S. may be a leader in AI talent, but it’s a truly global workforce. Marco Polo, for example, reports that over two-thirds of leading AI researchers working in the U.S. received undergraduate degrees in other countries.
Companies of all kinds are on the hunt for talent. "The demand for professionals with knowledge in AI research, machine learning, deep learning — it truly outpaces the available supply of candidates," says Aaron Sines, a director at technical recruiting company Razoroo. "There's certainly a scarcity, I think, and our clients are acutely aware of that, which inherently is driving upward pressure on compensation."
Employees are seeking out AI and machine learning jobs, too. Research by LinkedIn shows that job posts mentioning artificial intelligence or generative AI have seen a 17 percent application growth over the past two years.
That’s something LinkedIn VP of Global Talent Acquisition, Erin Scruggs, puts down to candidate savviness. “They’re showing they want to go where opportunities are,” Scruggs writes. “So I would consider it a requirement for most companies to share at least a basic roadmap of their AI strategy in job posts to keep up with the market.”
Remote and hybrid work are here to stay
Remote working has become increasingly relevant in the Western world. In the U.S., 13 percent of full-time employees are fully remote, and 28 percent are in a hybrid arrangement, according to WFH Research. In the U.K., 24 percent of workers work hybrid, according to the Office for National Statistics.
But this trend is no longer limited to the West. Gartner predicts that 39 percent of global knowledge workers will work in a hybrid fashion by the end of 2023. Further, Cisco’s Global Hybrid Work Study 2022 (which studied remote working attitudes across more than 20 countries) found that almost two-thirds (62 percent) of employees say “that their ability to work from anywhere impacts whether they stay at or leave a job.”
In short, when hiring abroad, you need to take remote and hybrid work considerations seriously. In another report, this one by ZipRecruiter, more than 60 percent of job seekers surveyed in 2022 want a remote role, and eight percent said they quit their last job to work from home in the future.
The increase in remote working has also given rise to another trend: remote interviewing. This can be much more difficult than interviewing candidates in person, writes Luke Marson, SVP of human experience management (HXM) practice at The Silicon Partners Inc. “Unforeseen technical challenges -- even those that are out of a candidate's control -- can cause candidates to become flustered and embarrassed, which ultimately can lead to recruiters being put off a candidate,” he explains.
It can also be hard for some candidates to present themselves in a professional manner, depending on their circumstances. “Luckily, many of the video conferencing technologies have introduced custom and blurred background options and their reliability has improved,” Marson notes. “And people are now used to seeing a variety of settings for video meetings.”
Contract workers over full-time employees
Global employers are increasingly relying on gig workers and contractors as they look to stay flexible among an uncertain and ever-changing global market.
Research by LinkedIn shows that in the U.S., posts for contract positions are growing at a much faster rate than full-time positions. They report companies expecting to spend more on external staffing firms in 2023, too. In the U.K., there was a 13 percent increase in contract vacancies between April 2021 and April 2022, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).
That growth shows no signs of abating globally. In 2021, the global contingent workforce generated $171.5 trillion. It’s predicted to reach $465.2 trillion by 2031.
There are some pretty sizable benefits to hiring international contract workers, writes Drew Donnelly, Ph.D. at Horizons. That it is flexible, cheaper and makes compliance easier. For example, contractors aren’t usually entitled to a full set of employee benefits, nor are employers required to pay health insurance contributions. There are also “far fewer legal and regulatory rules that apply to independent contractors as opposed to employees,” so it’s easier to comply with local labor laws.
Stephen Lochhead, senior VP of global talent acquisition at Expedia Group puts it this way: “If you’re a recruiting leader in 2023 and you don’t have a decent mix of contingent talent, you’ll be more risk-exposed to whatever the future brings — good and bad. You need some elasticity so you can flex up or down as needed.”
Hiring for diversity
Hiring international employees isn’t just an opportunity for companies to reduce costs, far from it. Rather, companies are focused on hiring for diversity and building an ethnically and culturally diverse global workforce.
In doing so, companies can access specialized talent that may not be available locally, says the team at Boundless. “By hiring foreign talent, you open the door to a broader pool of candidates with unique skills and expertise. Whether it’s advanced technical skills, niche industry knowledge, or experience with cutting-edge technologies, foreign hires can fill crucial gaps in your team, accelerating your startup’s growth and development.”
Sourcing global candidates can help companies meet diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, while filling important positions and connecting with emerging talent from world-class universities outside of the U.S., says the team at Global Internships
Building an ethnically and culturally diverse global workforce is important to potential employees in every market. Employees are keen to see a company's commitment to DEI and ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] efforts, say Mercer’s Kate Bravery et al. in the company’s Global Talent Trends study.
“Employees are realistic and reasonable — they understand that dramatic movement on big topics such as ESG and DEI does not happen overnight, but they do want to see their company’s commitment to the journey and meaningful progress along the way.”
Diversity brings financial benefits, too. Research by McKinsey in 2020 found that companies in the top quartile of ethnic and cultural diversity outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 36 percent in terms of profitability.
The role of data-driven hiring
Data-driven recruitment is the use of data analysis to make smarter and faster recruitment decisions.
“That is, [acquisition leaders] use real-time analytics and insights — from pipeline growth metrics and offer acceptance rates to the quality and cost of new hires and candidate feedback scores — to help them in the short term (craft automated processes to reduce/eliminate manual work and improve in critical areas) and long term (routinely attract, engage and hire the best talent),” explains Lever’s Matthew Bushery.
The use of data-driven recruitment is on the rise both when recruiting U.S.-based candidates and those abroad. It can be particularly helpful for making sense of a local workforce when you enter a new market.
“Data-driven talent acquisition can take a large and ambiguous talent pool and turn it into a lean, high-quality pool of candidates that will likely be successful in the role you are looking to fill,” writes the team at Comeet. “The right data can help your recruitment team extend its sourcing from a local pool to a national or global pool to find pockets of candidates before your competitors.”
It’s why a solution like Payslip is so important to companies looking to hire across the globe. By standardizing payroll data and processes and increasing visibility across all countries, finance and HR teams can make data-backed scenario planning and hiring decisions much faster.
Besides, hiring international employees is just half the battle. To learn how Payslip’s global payroll control platform can transform how you deliver and manage multi-country payroll, book a demo today.
Images used under license from Shutterstock.com.